Wait Until Next Year

I’m a graduate from the University of Kansas, home of one of the most successful basketball programs in the history of college basketball.  I’ve been a fan of the basketball team since 1988 after they’d won the National Championship behind Danny Manning.  I’d thought “Hey, Kansas! I’m in Kansas!  And we WON!?” and was hooked from there.

And holy cow, there’s a lot of heartbreak in those years.  Years when we were ranked in the top five all season, only to blow it in March.  Years where we had talent but it didn’t mesh.  Years where bad basketball bounced us back to basics (so many B’s!)  But no matter what, regardless of how a season ended, we’d hide the disappointment with one phrase:

“Well just wait ’til next year…THAT’s our year!”

Alex Gordon‘s taking the same approach.

Sometimes I step back and remind myself that baseball players are human.

It’s not like Alex Gordon doesn’t know the expectations placed upon him since he came into the big leagues. And of course he’s got to be frustrated that he’s only made it into 116 games since 2008, with trips to both Omaha and the disabled list sprinkled in there.

Part of me wonders if Gordon’s just saying what should be said by stating that he expects to dominate next year. Your boss wouldn’t want to hear “well I don’t know if I can really get that project done next week” from you. But, as Gordon says in the article, he’s shown flashes and if he can manage to level out the valleys, he can return to the form that made him an above average player in 2008 (with upside to continue improving).

The switch to left field has relieved some of the pressure, and by basic defensive numbers, Gordon’s been a better defender in left field than at third base. Perhaps that will allow Gordon to relax and find his pitches at the plate.

Gordon’s always had a pretty strong batting eye, walking 9.8% of the time, slightly above league average. He strikes out a lot, and that will probably never go away. He’s demonstrated power in Omaha but hasn’t translated it to the major league level with consistency. Over his career, Gordon’s hit a homerun every 32 at bats, so if he ever played a full season of about 600 at bats, he’d come close to 20 homeruns. Which isn’t bad, but isn’t a superstar level of production.

And yet, there are those flashes where Gordon hits a ball that has no chance of staying in the park. When he and everyone else know it’s gone.

That’s what we need to see next year, and hopefully Gordon’s statement of confidence brings that dominance next year.

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